The Labette County High Grizzlies escaped Iola with a 55-52 win after rallying past the Mustangs in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s non-league contest.
The Mustangs seemed in control, leading 40-37 at the beginning of the fourth, but could not hold on — a trend IHS coach Luke Bycroft hopes to break before the Mustangs head on the road to face Wellsville Friday.
“We lost the game because we’re not tough enough to win a hard game,” Bycroft said. “We’re too soft. There are things we need to do better basketball-wise, but that’s not what’s holding us back. It’s mental weakness.”
Junior guard Austin Crooks got the Mustangs rolling while scoring six of his team-leading 20 points. Crooks seemed Iola’s most consistent scorer with a trio of buckets in each subsequent quarter until foul trouble limited him to a bucket in the fourth quarter.
Labette County junior guard Kane Nash seemed the perfect foil for Iola. Nash ended the night with only one foul while raining down six 3-pointers for a team-leading 22 points. Each of his 3-pointers seemed to come at pivotal points which Bycroft believes his playersmust better prepare for.
“We’re really close to being a good team, but our biggest hurdle is not basketball stuff. It’s mental stuff,” Bycroft said. “It’s some guys one night, some guys another and some guys in practice. Until we get that fixed, we will never be the team we need to be. I’m done with moral victories. This is the third straight game we’ve lost because we’re not tough enough.”
One area Bycroft felt pleased with was the emergence of sophomore forward Noah Fawson, who was second in scoring with 11 points, followed by sophomore forward Reed Clift, who had 8 points and Iola’s only 3-pointer of the evening. Senior guard Nick Bauer had 5 points and a team-leading six rebounds, followed by Crooks with four, then junior forward Keegan Hill and Fawson with three boards each. Hill also had three blocks.
“We did some good things. We responded in the second quarter, when we let them back in the game, but it’s not good enough,” Bycroft said. “It’s not good enough to be close. I don’t think it will inspire them until we get a win out of this. Until it shows them we can do this.”
With the loss, the Mustangs stand at 4-5. They host 8-2 Caney Valley Thursday, which Bycroft said will prepare them for Friday’s contest against Pioneer League foe Wellsville. A win Friday would even Iola’s Pioneer League record to 3-3.
“They have to learn how to win and we don’t have a long tradition of winning and not just in basketball,” Bycroft said. “It’s other things as well. Once you get to a point you’re okay with losing, then you have a loser’s mentality. We have to break that.”
